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from the only-lost-$500-million-per-month...for-60-consecutive-months dept.
After Buying DirecTV For $50 Billion In 2015, AT&T Now Seeks To Sell It For Under $20 Billion:
How do you destroy $30 billion in value in just five years? If you are AT&T, you buy DirecTV in 2015 for $50 billion and five years later you try to sell it - now renamed to AT&TTV - for less than $20 billion, a loss of 60% on the deal.
That, according to the Wall Street Journal is what AT&T hopes to do as it takes "a fresh look its DirecTV business" exploring a deal for a service wounded by cord-cutting. And by fresh look, the journal means sell.
When AT&T announced plans to acquire DirecTV in May 2014, the vision was to control some 26 million TV subscribers. However, the resulting slump in cable and satellite viewership due to the relentless encroachment of streaming services, the value of DirecTV has seen a sharp drop in recent years and the result is yet another catastrophic media deal. And since the pay-TV unit has shed 7 million U.S. video connections over the past two years, a deal could value the business below $20 billion, the WSJ sources said.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Saturday August 29 2020, @01:46PM (21 children)
Market timing... I effectively "cut" myself off from cable in 1991 due to lack of value relative to price - I went to broadcast TV (hard to beat a monthly fee of 0), and when our first DVD player came with a Netflix subscription offer (1998, I think), we took it and never looked back.
Netflix was always an obvious investment target, but somehow always seemed to be over-valued too.
Hats off to the genius at AT&T who is pulling this trigger, they've already lost $30B, that can't be changed - getting out without losing the final $20B is a great move.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Saturday August 29 2020, @02:26PM (17 children)
I'm proud to say I've never paid for cable. Came free with an apartment back in the late 80s, but none since then.
Since digital TV transition, for which I've had to put up outdoor amplified antennas to receive what used to work with indoor "rabbit ears", I get well over 80 channels. I paid no attention to cable TV prices until a few years ago when I expected prices to be maybe $20/month and was stunned to hear $80/month was average. A year ago I found my aunt paying $170 for TV and 1 landline. Unreal. Why do they charge so much? Because they can.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Saturday August 29 2020, @03:41PM
I'm a hardcase too - written off by Cable marketing as an unwinnable customer. I paid for cable as part of a shared rental from 1988 to 1990 (didn't really have a choice), since then I've taken cable as part of a bundle that lowered my internet monthly fee for a couple of years, but I've never hooked up the decoder box.
In the early years I had ordinary outdoor antennas, since Netflix I don't even bother with those anymore.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Grishnakh on Saturday August 29 2020, @04:40PM (15 children)
A year ago I found my aunt paying $170 for TV and 1 landline. Unreal. Why do they charge so much? Because they can.
This is exactly it. There's a core group of (old and slowly dying) customers who will absolutely never give up their cable TV, no matter what. I found the same with my mom; I got her to cancel it to save a bunch of money, because she spends a lot of her time watching stuff on Netflix and other services anyway, and the next time I visited I found out she had re-subscribed because she missed her channels that showed endless re-runs of 60s-70s shows, even though you can easily get that stuff online for free or much cheaper. I tried getting her to use SlingTV, Hulu, etc., but it was no use. And she's not unable to use online services; they're built into her smart TV and she already subscribes to, and watches, Netflix and BritBox. Basically, it's just too inconvenient for her to bother finding things she wants from these rerun channels online (she needs Britbox because they don't show that stuff on American TV, so that's what motivated her to subscribe to that and learn to use it), so she'd rather pay $150/month for cable.
The reason Americans have no savings, huge credit card debt, and are always on the verge of bankruptcy is because they're lazy and entitled. They'd rather risk financial disaster than go without something they don't need, especially if it's something they've had for years or decades (like cable TV). The only way it changes is when a new generation grows up without it or not valuing it, but people who've had it won't ever give it up.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Saturday August 29 2020, @06:12PM (11 children)
I get all kinds of 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, re-runs on free broadcast TV!! I could list out the shows- she'd love them! Aim her antenna in my direction.
That last wisecrack aside, some of these oldies but goodies channels are fairly recent, last year even, so you and she might not be aware they're now available.
You have to do a channel re-scan from time to time with digital TV, btw.
(Score: 2) by VacuumTube on Saturday August 29 2020, @06:50PM (10 children)
If you want to watch broadcast TV but you don't get great reception you can install a cheap amplifier. ($15-20) Mount it close to the antenna, not at the back of the TV where it would amplify a lot of path noise.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Saturday August 29 2020, @10:48PM (9 children)
Yeah, I tried getting my mom to do (get an antenna). She doesn't live in a city, so the reception wasn't good enough to get many channels, and the endless-70s-reruns channel she likes is cable-only.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Sunday August 30 2020, @01:21AM (8 children)
I'm about 25-30 miles, in fact, I get several stations from another city that's 60 miles away without re-aiming the antenna- rock solid- no breakups. And that's an older antenna and amplifier (mounted on the antenna).
I highly recommend the integrated antenna and amplifier, outdoor rated of course.
Again, you might be surprised at what's been added in just the past year or two. I get many channels that do older shows, game shows, Ozzy and Harriet, Honeymooners, Father knows best, Dennis the menace, you name it.
Which particular shows does your mom like?
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Sunday August 30 2020, @01:42PM (7 children)
Last time I was there, she was watching MASH. I think she said something about Bonanza too.
As for the antenna, all that sounds like too much trouble for her. Mounting an antenna outside will be very expensive: she'd have to hire an electrician or something to do it. It's more convenient for her to just pay $150/month to keep things as they are. I know, it sounds crazy, but I suspect this is the logic a lot of people follow.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Sunday August 30 2020, @06:37PM (6 children)
Oh, I thought YOU were going to help her. :) I would do it if it was my mom. :)
One to look for is "MeTV" https://www.metv.com/schedule/ [metv.com]. You can go to zap2it.com, enter her zip code, navigate to "antenna", click it, and see if MeTV is in her lineup.
Bonanza is on "Retro" right now, and there really is about a dozen more of the moldy oldies stations in my area broadcast.
And she doesn't HAVE to commit either way. She could start using the antenna input and see how she likes the lineup before cutting the cable.
I actually have 3 antennas, and one is in my attic and works extremely well- I get everything that comes in on the fully outdoor antennas.
There are many great amplified antennas that would work well right in the room with the TV. Someone would have to aim them using the signal strength meter in the TV. I've seen them for $20 that work well.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Monday August 31 2020, @02:01AM (5 children)
Oh, I thought YOU were going to help her. :) I would do it if it was my mom. :)
I thought I was too, but by the time I got there (I only visit once a month or so, I don't exactly live next door), she had already given up and gone back to her cable TV. And she already had a bunch of other projects for me to do with my limited time there.
Which brings me to another observation/complaint about Americans and how they spend money recklessly: they have to have everything NOW. If that means piling on credit card debt because they don't want to wait a little bit, they're happy to do so.
Thanks for the info about MeTV; I'll check that out.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Monday August 31 2020, @03:12AM (4 children)
As an American I'm not happy to be stereotyped, but many Americans are very much "gotta have it now". My parents were born in the Great Depression into poor families, so I've always been fairly frugal, depending on overall financial situation of course.
Speaking of credit cards and insane debt you reminded me: some years ago I got a "special invitation" to some kind of investment presentation. It turned out to be very legit, and still not well advertised. It was a company that finances credit card debt. They started off talking about various investments from savings accounts to money markets, futures, stocks, mutual funds, real estate, etc., and showed the average returns. Credit card debt was the highest, and from what I see, still is. I'm also proud to say I don't have a credit card. I've had them in the past but kept them paid off.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Monday August 31 2020, @03:14PM (3 children)
Why would you not have a credit card? If you're able to keep them paid off, they're basically free money. Any decent card gets you 1-3% cash back (or rewards, take your pick) on everything you buy, some even give you 4% on certain things. This of course is paid for by the merchants, who jack up their prices to compensate, but that state already exists so you might as well take advantage of it. Plus, using credit cards is much safer and convenient than carrying cash around, and it's also impossible to buy stuff online without some kind of card. Debit cards are entirely dangerous: if anyone gets your numbers, they can buy stuff and drain your bank account; this is impossible with a credit card.
The only downside to credit cards is that you have to pay them off every month or you get socked with big interest payments (and late fees if you're late paying), which is one big way the credit card companies make their money. If you have enough discipline to avoid this, then it's entirely in your favor to have a card that gives good rewards.
I honestly don't know how I'd live without a credit card. I wouldn't even be able to buy anything online safely without one.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Tuesday September 01 2020, @12:59AM (2 children)
Because I don't want to be a stereotypical American. :-P
Really it's complicated. You make good points. I used to have one. I have a Visa debit to pay for online stuff and guess what- it's attached to its own account with very little $ in the account. I "feed" it when I need to buy something online. In fact a few online transactions got blocked- they do use a 3rd party security company that seems to work well.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Tuesday September 01 2020, @08:34PM (1 child)
Because I don't want to be a stereotypical American. :-P
It's not just Americans who use credit cards.
To not be a stereotypical American, it's really easy: don't carry a balance! Pay it off every month, and never spend so much that you can't pay it all off in a month. However, this seems to be utterly impossible for many Americans for some reason.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Wednesday September 02 2020, @03:10AM
Thanks, but are you trying to be a good friend? Which is fine. Or are you somehow connected to the credit industry and want to make $? Or, maybe part of the tracking infrastructure and want everyone under the spy tracking microscope? Which is another strong reason I don't want one.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 30 2020, @08:05AM
I buy whole series of shows for 30-100 bucks on DVD. Usually 10 seasons at a time. commercial free...
Figure out which shows she watches and buy her those for a birthday/Christmas/whatever.
example https://www.amazon.com/Columbo-Complete-Peter-Falk/dp/B07B64Z7HQ [amazon.com]
10 seasons of columbo 50 bucks (got mine for 34).
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 30 2020, @11:49AM (1 child)
"The reason Americans have no savings, huge credit card debt, and are always on the verge of bankruptcy is because they're lazy and entitled."
No, the reason is: you lose money by saving it due to inflation because our money is no longer tied to a standard to keep inflation in check. When there's no incentive to save, you have to use credit to make moderate and large purchases.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Wednesday September 02 2020, @03:15AM
Recently I was surprised to see "layaway" signs at a major store. Admittedly not always possible, like if you need to buy a new major appliance in a hurry, but it's a good way to buy something now before the price rises faster than most investment interest, which is why and how
the Ponzi schemeour economy works...(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday August 30 2020, @12:06PM (2 children)
They made end up settling for much less than $20B. That's the initial offer.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Sunday August 30 2020, @01:41PM (1 child)
They're clearly unable to "turn it around" - best to get what they can while somebody else still thinks they can, otherwise its value will end up being less than the physical assets.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday August 30 2020, @10:45PM